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What’s going on in Washington DC, and what does it mean for people with Parkinson’s?

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Author: Parkinson's Life editorsPublished: 16 August 2017

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In the US, the debate surrounding Parkinson’s care and research funding has hit Washington DC. Learn more about the US legislation that could impact people with Parkinson’s in this month’s free webinar from the Michael J Fox Foundation

The next episode of the Michael J Fox Foundation’s Third Thursday webinar series will focus on ‘What’s going on in Washington?’ and will be broadcast on 17 August at 12:00 EST.

Regular host Dave Iverson, principal moderator for Partners in Parkinson’s, will lead the discussion on US legislation that could impact access to Parkinson’s care and research funding.

Listeners are encouraged to engage with the debate in real time to discuss these issues and what they mean for the Parkinson’s community.

The Michael J Fox Foundation will also share resources that listeners will be able to use to help advocate this August, while United States Congress is in recess and lawmakers return to their home states to meet with constituents.

It’s free to join the live webinar – just register here up to 15 minutes before it starts. If you miss the live broadcast, you can catch up via the recording in the library archive here.

IN THE NEWS

A study published in the ‘Journal of Clinical Investigation’ has suggested mechanisms that lead to Parkinson’s in adulthood, may begin much earlier than previously thought. The study, carried out by Northwestern University, Illinois, US, researched movement disorder spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 by genetically engineering a mouse to mirror the human disease. Researchers found that altering circuity in the cerebellum – an area of the brain that controls movements – set the stage for later susceptibility to neurological disease. Professor Puneet Opal, who worked on the study, said: “This is the first discovery of alterations in an adult-onset spinocerebellar disorder that stems from such early developmental processes. “This may well be generalisable to a whole host of other diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease, Huntington’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.”

Global Kinetics receives vital funding

Australian-based health company Global Kinetics has received a $AUS 7.75 million investment from the Australian Federal Government’s Biomedical Translation Fund. The investment will be used to commercialise its Parkinson’s KinetiGraph – a smartwatch-style device that continually tracks the involuntary movements of those living with the condition. In addition to the sum from the Australian government, Global Kinetics also announced they are to receive a grant from The Michael J Fox Foundation, Shake It Up Australia Foundation and Parkinson’s Victoria. Mark Frasier, senior vice president of research programmes at The Michael J Fox Foundation, said: “The experience of Parkinson’s varies day-to-day, hour-to-hour. An objective tool, such as the wearable PKG technology, that passively collects data on the experience of Parkinson’s disease could give patients and their doctors greater insight to calibrate treatment plans and improve outcomes.”

Smartphone app detects severity of Parkinson’s symptoms

A smartphone app– created by researchers from Johns Hopkins University, the University of Rochester Medical Centre and Aston University – can detect the severity of symptoms in people with Parkinson’s, according to a recent study. The study, which appeared in medical journal ‘JAMA’, found that the HopkinsPD app generated severity score levels which strongly correlated with standard movement tests given by physicians. HopkinsPD is expected to help medical professionals analyse Parkinson’s symptoms. Dr Ray Dorsey, neurologist at the University of Rochester, said: “Until these types of studies, we had very limited data on how people function on Saturdays and Sundays because patients don’t come to the clinic. “We also had very limited data about how people with Parkinson’s do at two o’clock in the morning or 11 o’clock at night because, unless they’re hospitalised, they’re generally not being seen in clinics at those times.”